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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PELHAM – The Pelham Panthers rode an explosive offense to victory on Monday, Jan. 27 as they cruised to victory over a local foe in the Chilton County Tigers.

Pelham defeated Chilton County 77-39 on Monday night at Pelham High School after dropping 40 points in the first half and continuing on that scoring pace until the end.

Andy Olds and Eli Lewis caught fire from the field in the first quarter, scoring six points each off a trio of field goals. In typical Panthers fashion, they balanced their scoring throughout their offense all night, and that started in the first when six different players found the score sheet.

Pelham paired that with a solid defensive effort to take a 22-8 lead into the second quarter.

The Panthers continued dominating from there, surrendering just eight points for the second-straight quarter while building out their lead on the offensive end.

Pelham started having more success from deep in the second quarter as Sam Tolbert, Kobe Hearon and Trey Pittman each hit a 3-pointer while Hearon and Pittman each went for five points in the second after not scoring in the first quarter.

As a result, the Panthers took a 40-16 lead into the halftime break.

That lead only continued to grow in the third quarter as Pelham dropped 24 points from eight different scorers. Pittman and Egypt Daniel each hit multiple shots from the field while Olds, Pittman and Kyle O’Neil made a 3-pointer each in the third.

In addition, the Panthers took advantage of their opportunities from the charity stripe and went a combined 7-for-10 from the free throw line in the third.

Chilton County found more offensive success in the third, scoring 11 points, but the Tigers couldn’t keep up with Pelham’s blistering scoring pace as the hosts went up 64-27 ahead of the fourth quarter.

The Panthers kept the points coming down the stretch. O’Neil hit another pair of 3-pointers to add to his one from the third quarter while Hearon made his second deep shot of the game.

Pelham also went to its bench more in the fourth, allowing Marlon Scarbrough and Jordan Winston to score their first points of the game.

In the end, the Panthers secured the 38-point win in a crucial non-area victory with the playoffs looming.

Lewis and Pittman led Pelham with 10 points and Olds and O’Neil each had nine points. All nine of O’Neil’s points came from second-half 3-pointers.

Daniel and Hearon each scored eight points, Tolbert finished with six points and Arnold and Jacob Gibbs had four points apiece on a night when 13 Panthers scored at least one point.

Pelham improved to 13-14 with the win and will have a chance to get to .500 to end the regular season when the Panthers host Marbury on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m. for their rescheduled senior night.